Ooligan Press, Portland State’s own student-run printing press, is celebrating the release of their latest book We Belong in History: Writing with William Stafford. The book features educational lesson plans based off Stafford’s poetry, which are aimed at middle and high school students.
The book also features the poetry of both Stafford and local students. The included student poetry was chosen from a contest held by Ooligan Press. The contest challenged students across Oregon to write poems inspired by classes based off the lessons plans. Students were invited to submit their poems for a chance at publication, and the winners were chosen by a panel of graduate students.
We Belong in History: Writing with William Stafford is divided into four sections, each with its own theme. Each section contains a lesson plan, followed by poems by Stafford that fall into the theme of the section, and the winning students’ poems.
Just sitting in a
basement somewhere…
Stafford published over 60 books of poetry over the course of his life and served as Oregon’s poet laureate from 1975 to 1989. He wrote every day of his life from 1950 to 1993.
What remains of Stafford’s writing, notes and research is kept in the William Stafford Archives at Lewis & Clark College, where he taught for more than 30 years. The documents in the archive were donated by the Stafford family in 2008.
The archives, which are housed in the college’s special collections department, contain more than 20,000 pages of the poet’s writing. It was in these archives that the lesson plans—the basis for We Belong in History penned by teachers long ago—were found.
“We used these lesson plans as a jumping-off point to organize the contest,” said Michael Berliner, project manager for the book.
Berliner said that the teachers who had originally written the lesson plans were contacted and given the opportunity to update the plans if they were found to be out of date or inaccurate. Once the team had their hands on the lesson plans, they fell in love.
Berliner said that they were moved by Stafford’s philosophy that anyone can be a poet if they just sit down, write, and express themselves with the words they have.
“As students we recognize that we’re learning this poetic process ourselves,” Berliner said.
Berliner said that We Belong in History is as much a celebration of students as it is the teachers who instruct them. In working on the book, he has a newfound appreciation for teachers and the vital work they do.
“[They] really are the last line of defense to keep the arts going,” Berliner said.
An approachable poet
The book debuted last week at a party held at In Other Words bookstore in North Portland. We Belong in History is the brainchild of the Oregon poet laureate Paulann Petersen, who spoke at the event. She wrote the introduction and originally contacted Ooligan Press with the idea for the book.
Petersen said Stafford is a perfect fit for the book because of how accessible his poems are. She said that she knows of few poets who are as hospitable to other writers as Stafford was.
“His work is deep. It is mysterious,” Petersen said. “It takes wonderful, unexpected turns, and yet—and yet—his work is profoundly accessible to readers and listeners.”
Petersen said that, as Oregon’s poet laureate, she has traveled the state teaching classes and running workshops. The accessibility of Stafford’s poems allows her to use them in workshops with children of nearly any age.
Petersen said that she uses the poems in much the same way as they are used in the book; as “springboard” exercises designed to generate ideas in students.
“In every one of Bill’s poems he’s saying: ‘Come on in. This is wonderful stuff. This is something that you can do. This is something that can be part of your life too.’
“They speak to people,” Petersen said. “They speak to people of all ages.”
William Stafford passed away in 1993. Friday, Jan. 17, 2014 will mark Stafford’s centennial birthday.
Copies of We Belong in History: Writing with William Strafford are available now for purchase at Powell’s Books and on Amazon.com.
Ooligan Press is a student-run printing press affiliated with PSU. It is operated by students pursuing master’s degrees in book publishing.